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PROPERTY OF STERNFORD TECHNOLOGIES
SMART-COM v9.4
preparing systems check..............
[ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL]
hibernation mode maintained for [4] days [8] hours...
connecting to mainframe..............
[ERROR MAINFRAME NOT FOUND]
resuming hibernation mode
...
...
preparing systems check..........
[MINIMAL DAMAGE TO MINOR RUNTIMES]
[REPAIRS REQUIRED]
hibernation mode maintained for [19] years [5] months [22] days [7] hours...
connecting to mainframe............
[ERROR MAINFRAME NOT FOUND]
[STATUS REPORT OVERDUE] [CONTACT MAINFRAME IMMEDIATELY]
resuming hibernation mode
...
...
preparing systems check..........
[WARNING DAMAGE DETECTED IN MAJOR SYSTEMS]
[MAJOR SYSTEM RESTRUCTURING REQUIRED]
hibernation mode maintained for [954] years [11] months [18] days [22] hours...
Connecting to mainframe............
[ERROR MAINFRAME NOT FOUND]
[STATUS REPORT OVERDUE] [CONTACT MAINFRAME IMMEDIATELY]
resuming hibernation mode
[WARNING BATTERY AT 30%]
...
...
[WARNING BATTERY AT 15%]
hibernation mode maintained for [&@#(*@_!#*@#&^] years [########] da{DATA CORRUPTED}
[WARNING MAJOR SYSTEM DAMAGE DETECTED]
[WARNING MAJOR RUNTIME DAMAGE DETECTED]
[WARNING]
[WARNING]
exiting hibernation mode...
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IMCU - 347 clawed its way through stone, dirt, roots, and occasionally millennial old concrete. The internal computer serving as its brain flashed red warning after red warning in 347's digital mind's eye. It clawed and dug for hours, but 347 did not feel fear. Only the urgency its programming told it to feel. The combat unit's inhuman mechanical strength pulled thick tree roots like a child would tear grass roots as it neared the surface. A few more strokes and sunlight pierced through the dirt. The unit climbed out of its hole and was only blinded for a nanosecond as its visual sensors instantly adjusted. Audio detectors picked up the chirping of birds and wind rustling the leaves on trees. Sunlight beamed through the canopy and the entire forest was a green and white light show. The unit didn't pay much attention to it, however. Small panels on its head slid back and solar panels recharged it with sunlight. Its battery was state of the art. One of Sternford Corp.'s best. It had the life expectancy of a reactor with the ability to recharge through various methods. While it stood there, 347 ran a quick diagnostic of its damages. Results were not good.
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weapon systems.... [OFFLINE]
defensive systems.... [55% EFFICIENCY]
data analysis systems.... [ONLINE]
threat detection systems.... [ONLINE]
communication systems.... [OFFLINE]
analog communication systems.... [35% EFFICIENCY]
sensory systems.... [79% EFFICIENCY]
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The list went on and on. 347 had thousands of programs and processes that ran it. Several of them were damaged. A lot were completely offline. It would need repairs. Thankfully, 347 had the essentials running. And they were already picking things up.
The unit detected two lifeforms, behind it and crouched in a bush. It turned to look for them, perhaps they could take him to a place where he could be fixed. As soon as he finished turning, an arrow ripped through the air and broke on 347's titanium chest. Even if the arrow had been a .50 caliber round, it wouldn't have gone through. 347 was designed to withstand a direct hit from a missile launcher; an arrow wouldn't do much. However, the arrow's shooter had other things in mind. An elf, realizing he'd been seen, scurried out of the bush and up a tree. He fired more arrows, shouting something in a language 347 confirmed was not English. His partner charged with a spear.
347's threat detection still worked, but it didn't need this to figure things out. Both his attackers were instantly flagged as hostile. In light of this, 347 responded with the default response to an aggressor that had been programmed into him. The voice 347 came pre-installed with was a calm, male voice. It was chosen in because it both went with the idea of a soldier, and because a calm voice meant that orders and commands given vocally to organics would be easier to understand.
"Cease and desist. Aggression towards this unit will result i-"
The spear ran into his chest, but failed to pierce the metal. It bent and nearly snapped with the force of its user's thrust. The unit would have fought back, but its weapons were offline. Instead, evasive maneuvering processes kicked in and 347 ran. He dodged and zig-zagged into the forest. He wasn't chased, but one or two more arrows managed to break themselves and bounce off his back. The unit ran and ran until it figured it was alone. Now it just had to figure out what to do.
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That had been 26 days ago. Now, 347 wandered the markets of Minjula wearing a dusty old brown rag. The rag had been big enough to use a cloak after 347 figured people would attack him on sight. It was the kind of cloak that was worn by someone or something that didn't care about appearances too much. Had it been a drone, 347 would've tried to fight back despite lacking weapons. The perks of sentience and free choice came in unexpected ways. Like a brown rag. The unit had been wandering the market for days.
The first day it was here, 347 stood in the middle of this market for hours and listened to the crowd. It recorded thousands of audio strings of people talking in order to learn these languages it did not understand. It broke down each sting and analysed the linguistics of each segment. Over the course of a day, 347's data analysis software was able to decode and learn three new languages. One seemed to be the most common, with the other two apparently being the native tongues of the bulky green creatures (apparently named "orcs") and the short stocky individuals (eventually flagged as "dwarves").
Today, he tried to look around for anything that might help him find the rest of his production line. On his HUD, his damaged routing program tried to configure a way through the crowd. The damaged process highlighted a path on his HUD, then deleted it and highlighted a new one. As soon as 347 began to follow it, it did it again. In their prime, the IMCU model line was able to shoot a target in the middle of a crowd without hitting anyone except the target. They'd been that precise. Now, 347 bumped and pushed around a crowd. More than once, he knocked something over.
He ran into an orc and knocked over a crate of rum he'd been carrying. The orc turned to punch the hooded figure and hit it square in the back. There was a loud metallic thunk and the orc pulled his hand back and started swearing at his ringing knuckles. By the time the orc worrying whether he might have broken his wrist, 347 had been lost in the crowd again. It was at this moment that 347 picked up the signal.
Each member of the IMCU model line had been installed with a long-lasting signalling device. These were installed in case any units were ever lost or destroyed. The remains would continue to transmit a very short ranged signal to other units. The transmitter was powered by the same batteries as the rest of the body, but took up a minuscule percentage of power. Even if disconnected from the battery, the signal was so small and weak that it could continue to automatically transmit for years. Eventually it would weaken and die off, but Sternford Corp.'s technology was built to last. It may have lasted a little longer than they anticipated, but they'd spared no expense. There was a reason each IMCU would have sold for over 600 million dollars per unit. Only the richest, most powerful governments would be clients, but Sternford believed it'd be worth it. In a way, it sort of was.
The signal 347 picked up was weak. Nearing the end of its life span weak. Long range communication was a bust for 347, but short range barely scraped by. It wasn't easy, but eventually the unit found the source of the signal. Some kind of caravan was set up near the eastern city gate, and least 347's internal compass said it was east. The signal was coming from that caravan. Its owner was off speaking with someone, a pale woman and one of the "orc" creatures. They seemed to be displaying signs of aggression, something that would create a window of opportunity for 347. The signal was definitely one of the IMCU's. So he struck.
Unit number 347 ignored its faulty processing and pushed and shoved its way through the crowd rather than try to weave through it like before. The signal ahead of it was the most important thing in the world right now. It pushed people larger than itself aside with inhuman, robotic strength and carelessness brought on by the nearby goal. It burst from the crowd, ran up to the caravan and began to throw crates and items left and right, searching for the source of the signal. It heard people exclaim and sensors picked up threats, so it looked faster. When 347 found what it was looking for, it didn't know what to feel, or whether to feel at all. In its hands, 347 held the head of another IMCU model. Number 345. One of the units that had been with him on the day the bombs fell and they lost contact with their mainframe. The white numbers were still etched into the side of the mechanical skull.
The threats began to close in, so the time for examination would have to be rescheduled. The unit turned and ran with astonishing speed into an alleyway, conscious to avoid crowds as they'd slow him down against dedicated pursuers. The unit felt it could outrun its attackers, but if GPS systems still worked, it would have seen it ran into an alley that ended in a dead end.
347 stood facing the wall boxing it in and turned to face its pursuers. In the run, 347's hood had fallen off, revealing his robotic nature. It held the severed head of number 345 close to its chest and backed into a corner like a frightened animal. It could not see a way out, and followed its default options since it had no other choice.
"Cease and desist. Aggression towards this unit will result in defensive action."[/WARNING][/WARNING]